the long story is this. my coworkers and i eat at tan thai semi-regularly for lunch (like maybe once a month). it is only open 5 days a week from 11 am to 2 pm. it's lunch only. we used to also like some of the other thai places downtown, but one by one they have died off and the only one left is tan thai.
this is where you are not eating lunchthe first thing you need to know is this: we don't actually call it tan thai, we refer to it as "slow thai." this is because the service is slow as hell. back in its heyday about a year to a year and a half ago, you would have to wait at least 15 minutes to even get seated (it was that busy). then another 15-30 to get your food. it was good so we only went when we had time to wait and we didn't mind.
over the past year though a lot has changed at slow thai. the service has gotten slower. the food has gotten worse. the portions have gotten smaller. and the staff has gotten... less asian. we're at the point now where you are getting served by white women in tie-dyed t-shirts. it's very odd.
things have been going downhill for a while now but tan thai used to be so good that we keep giving it another shot. well today was it and we are officially crossing it off of our ever dwindling list of lunch options.
the first sign that things were really in the shitter over there was that we arrived at 12:30 and we did not have to wait for a table. in fact, the place was only about half full. this used to be unheard of over there. our next red flag was the waitress, who was complaining about being at work and saying how she could not wait to go home. ok lady, you only have to work for THREE HOURS. are you serious?
next problem: the prices. they are steadily increasing. i ordered pad see ewe which is some rice noodles, a few chunks of beef and broccoli, and some sauce. total cost: $7.50 before tax and tip! and the portion size was so small that i am kind of hungry and i just ate like an hour ago.
food quality was a huge issue. rickell ordered an egg roll and sesame chicken. i ordered the pad see ewe. eric got a crab rangoon and pad khee mao. rickell said the egg roll tasted like it came from the freezer case and did not eat it. eric said the crab rangoon was terrible and came with "raspberry jam or something" to dip it in.
my pad see ewe was ok, except it was ridiculously salty. eric said the pad khee mao was fine (but it was also a small portion). rickell hated the sesame chicken. i tasted it and i can understand why. it was not actually sesame chicken. it was deep fried chunks of chicken covered in sweet and sour sauce. the only thing indicating that sesame was even considered was the sprinkling of raw sesame seeds on top. i tasted it and it was completely bland.
now here is the thing, we have eaten there many times before and we know what the food has tasted like. rickell hated her sesame chicken so much that she called over the manager and said, "this is not sesame chicken." the manager looked at her and said "well that is our sesame chicken" and walked away. what the hell!
when it was time to pay, rickell again complained about her food. she asked for a discount since she had not eaten most of it and did not like it. the cashier said she could not help her and called over the manager. again the manager repeated that "this is our sesame chicken sauce." rickell told her she understood but said that it was not actually sesame chicken, it was sweet and sour chicken. the manager was adamant that "this is how we serve it" and "that's just how it is here." rickell again asked for a discount since the fact is that she did not eat her food and was not offered anything else.
the manager once again repeated that "this is our sesame chicken sauce" but went in the back to confer with "him." who is "him," you ask? i have no clue, but she kept referring to "him" through the conversation. we waited.
after a few minutes she came back. "he said just what i said. that's just how we serve our sesame chicken. maybe it's not what you were expecting but that's how we make it here." rickell again asked for a discount. the manager told her that "he said" she could have 25% off but that "this is just how we make our sesame chicken." no apology, no attempt to offer her something else.
while the manager was discounting her bill, i decided to peek in the kitchen to try to figure out who "he" was. i saw a maybe 18 year old guy washing dishes and an older, actually asian woman at a counter. no one else. and i seriously doubt the 18 year old dishwasher is "him."
so who is "he?" who knows. the mystery remains. all i know is this: do not eat at tan thai.
(photo courtesy of eric, who i made retake it like 5 times until i was satisfied)
18 comments:
damn - coworker and i were going to try that place out!
well - cross it off and we'll head to ruthais for thai instead when the craving hits us
Thats wild, I can't even picture where its at. Must be really nondescript.
Love your comment about the waitress complaining about work, no wonder with every customer complaining about the microwaved frozen lunches.
ruthai = way better
it's on w. court st., like just past the skyline. and that's true, the waitresses are probably sick of everyone bitching!
6:08 PM my ass!
Like you, Liz, I have been going here for a few years now, and I was hooked from the first time I went there.
While I agree at least in part with some of what you have said here, Tan Thai remains my very favorite place to eat downtown. I'd eat there every day if a) the prices were a bit lower, and b) if I wasn't walking all the way from 4th and Main. If anyone ever asks me to recommend a single place for lunch downtown, I point them to Tan Thai. No question, hands down.
All that said, yes, there have been a whirlwind of changes in the past year, including all the menu swaps you didn't mention in your piece. These changes were all triggered by one event, really - the opening of their second location in Springdale. I have been told that all the old staff went there, that the family that owns Tan Thai all live near there and this location is far more convenient for them. But yes, since that time - prices have gone up and portions have gone down. I have not, however, seen a drop in quality.
I have bee through most of them menu and noted is that the real winners are the truly Thai dishes, as well as the yakisoba. I have not even liked the americhinese general tsos/orange chicken/sesame chicken.....they only have these because customers demand them, not because they want to make them. Yes, they should try to make these palatable as well, but really, cmon, it's a Thai place. They focus on their Thai items. As they should.
Pad Thai, Kee Mao, See Ewe, Kai Ka Prao, the Curries - these are all really, really good. As is the Yakisoba, which is (I understand) a japanese-sourced dish. I'd argue passionately with you that they serve the very best fried rice in town, not just compared to all other Thai joints, but all other asian joints.
The cheese rolls and the rangoons are served with a strawberry (not raspberry) sauce. You'll find this same treatment at Kar-ma in Anderson. It is unusual, yes, but it's pretty good if you give it a chance. That said, I usually skip the apps - including the eggrolls and spring rolls - because they like the rest of the menu are overpriced....I just get one of the Thai entrees.
I have noted of late that while they remain packed most days, it used to be a line out the door *every* single day. So their business is indeed dropping off a bit. I am hoping they will notice this and make some changes, starting with (at least I hope this is where they start) their prices. They could easily offer one dish a day as a special at a buck off, or a buck off for carryout (since they have such limited seating space) and do quite well
Finally, I have not noted any serious drop in their service speed, ie time from ordering to lunch in front of you. They may be slightly slower with the non-asian staff, but it has not seemed MUCH different to me. Let me ask - do you get slow service EVERY time, or just this one time?
and to schwartz - no, these are not microwaved frozen lunches. sorry, you're entirely wrong here. Might I ask why you need to make such a nasty and baseless comment when it is quite clear from your own comment ("I can't even picture where its at") that you've never even been to the place, ever? Much less eaten there?
In conclusion - I STRONGLY recommend this place though I admit it it is less of a value than it once was
Sorry for the length of the comment, but lacking a blog of my own to post a proper rebuttal and being in such wide disagreement with Liz (in this case) I felt it necessary. I have no financial interest in the place, I just love their food.
Do they have a they also offer tanning? That'd be kind of cool...
tj, thanks for all your thoughts. you win longest comment ever award!
i did used to agree w/ you re: the food, but over the past few months in several visits we have just noticed both quality and portion size going down. and re: "slow thai," that's what we have called it since the first time we went there.
re: non-thai dishes, it's not their specialty, but in my opinion that's not an excuse to do a shitty job of it, especially since they used to do them a lot better.
i agree that it was at least in the past one of the best places to eat lunch downtown. i really hope they can get it together because i will really miss eating there.
Well, I think we can all agree that even at the best of eateries, not every dish is equal. There are some winners, and there are some less-than stellar items. Bravo's (an italian chain) for example does excellent salads and entrees, but after 3 tries I have come to the conclusion that I should never again order one of their desserts. At Tan Thai, the Thai food is the star, and the americhinese dishes are the ones to be avoided.
I've had Ruthai, and I like Ruthai a lot, but imho Tan Thai is better food (talking standard Thai fare only here - I don't do sushi). Tan Thai's prices - while high - are roughly half the price of the same item at Ruthai.
regardless of food quality, taste, or the other issues debated in the previous comments, based on liz's experience described in the post, i think it sounds like a completely unfriendly place to eat. i have never been to a restaurant where the server failed to ask me if i didn't like my food when not much is eaten. i've been offered at least a discount in these situations, and i've never had to ask. most servers are fairly atuned to when a customer likes something or doesn't. it just makes sense to offer a customer something else (maybe a thai specialty of the house?) rather then debating what constitutes seasame chicken.
I have to agree with k; going the extra mile to ensure a diner's satisfaction should be a matter of pride, plain and simple. To blow off an unsatisfied customer is unacceptable.
I've been treated better at BW-3; I took only two bites of an awful chicken sandwich and told our server that it was dry, tough and didn't taste good. That's all I said. I hoped they would take off the sandwich but left it to them. They took the sandwich, the drink, and the side item off the bill (which said "food goof" on it).
Normally I would take TJ's advice and try his recommendations but I doubt I'll go back to a place that doesn't value its customers.
In contrast, I was back at BW-3 the next week and got a good lunch. Good service = good juju.
I went to Tan Thai today and once again was disappointed, I still can't get over the fact that they don't have green curry. How can a Thai place not have green curry? That should've been my first clue. The first time I went, I quickly ordered tofu fried rice. It was disgusting. I was on the toilet for a day. It was so over-the-top oily and the tofu was so tough and chewy I had to spit it out. BUT I was told by my coworkers to give it another try, maybe get red curry this time. It was better, but still not good and definitely not worth the price. And lastly, I still cannot get over the fact that the first time I called to place an order the phone just kept ringing. So, I went down there, waited in line to order and then overheard the girl (yes, in a tie-dyed shirt) saying, "I am glad we disconnected the phone, it was ringing non-stop." Enough said.
Ur just a dumb bitch looking for a free meal. If you don't like it stay the hell away. Tan Thai is pretty much packed everyday and yeah when a resturant is full it does take longer to get ur food. Ive eaten there and I have overheard people raving about how good the food is. Ur just stupid and don't know what sesame chicken is and u cant even spell it correctly. They have enough business where they don't need you. The waitresses and the manager do a great job and once again I have overheard people telling the staff that they do a great job. They are friendly and courteous. They can only move as fast as the cook can get the food out. Why don't u try to cook for around 150 people each day and see if you can do it any faster. The cook is from Thailand and he does a great job and his food taste wonderful. It is a great place to eat. If it is so bad people wouldn't be waiting to sit down and eat. So take ur comments and shove them up ur ass. I WILL CONTINUE TO EAT THERE!!!!! and what the hell r u doing "peeking" in the kitchen. Its none of ur business what goes on back there.
This person clearly works there.
To anonymous I DO NOT work there but eat there twice a week when I am in town from Cleveland.
Had the garlic stir fry today, excellent as always
I urge everyone who has not given this place a try to try it just once and decide for yourself. That said, make sure to get a Thai specialty or the yakisoba rather than one of the americhinese dishes.
Not sure if you get notified when comments get added to older entries, Liz, but......Tan Thai recently was sold and is being operated by a new owner. The menu and prices remain unchanged for the moment, but I would say based on my one visit so far that portions and quality have sadly taken another hit.
I will go back a few more times to get a better feel on the place under new ownership, and report back.
Well, I just went back today for yakisoba, and once I got it back to my desk, it was clear everything had changed. Other than the same skinny noodles being used, the dish did not resemble the yakisoba I had eaten from there in the past, and the taste was well below par, with plenty of cilantro (not listed as an ingredient on the menu, mind you) which to me tastes like soap. Bottom line, I ate two bites and threw the rest out.
Although I disagreed with you previously, with the arrival of this new owner, things have definitely gone downhill quick
Sad. Very sad.
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